James g



(No Modem J. G. WILSON. PARTITION, SHUTTER, AND THE LIKE.

No. 405,450. Patented June 18, 1889 WITNESSESI @fl/W' BY WMe/vd luk ATTORNEY UNITED STATES 'PATENT OEEICE.-

JAMES G. WILSON, OF NEV YORK, N. Y.

PARTITION, SHUTTER, AND THE LIKE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 405,450, dated June 18,1889.

Application filed November 24, 1888. Serial No. 291,800.

(No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES G. WILSON, a subject of the Queen of GreatBritain, and a resident of New York, in the county and State of NewYork, have invented new and useful Improvements in Partitions, Shutters,and the like, of which the following' is a specication.

My invention relates to improvements in wooden structures or articles,such as shutters, blinds, partitions, mats, dec. and it consists,essentially, in binding toget-her slats of wood by means of cables,Wires, or bands kept in tension bysuitable springs, so as to permitshrinkage of the slats without causing a separation or opening' of thejoints. These tension cables, wires, or bands, b yielding', also permitthe bending, coiling, or rolling up of the article so constructed.

The peculiar features of my invention as above briefly pointed out aremore fully described in the following specification and claims, andillustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l representsa vertical section in the plane .r 0c, Fig. 2, of a structure embodyingmy invention. Fig. 2 is a front view of the same, part being brokenaway. Fig. 3 is a bottom view of Fig. 2. Fig'. 4 is a sectionalelevation of a detail part. Fig. 5 is a sec` tional elevation showingthe structure attached to a roller or pulley for coiling it up. Fig. (lis a sectional elevation of a modification.

Similar-letters indicate corresponding' parts.

In the drawings, the letters a a designate slats of wood, which arethreaded upon a series of suitable metallic cables or wires or bands A,distributed at proper intervals throughout the width of the structure.In the example illustrated I have shown cables A, which pass through theslats cent-rally with the thickness thereof, their upper extremitiesbeing attached at b l) to the upper end slats a', and their lowerextremities to spiral springs B B, placed within suitable recesses c inthe lower end slat or slats O. The lower ends of the springs B areaffixed to the end slat C in any suitable manner. In this example I haveshown them attached to nuts d, which are guided in the recesses andreceive adjustingscrews D, havin g suitable bearings in metallic platese, closing the recesses. By means of these adjusting screws the tensionof the cables A can be regulated at will. The cables A being undertension all the slats are held in close contact, edge to edge, thetendency of these tensional cables being to hold them in this positionand to return them to theirnormal position when ever separated. lVhenthe slats shrink, which would cause a separation or opening of a jointor joints, the tensional cables are virtually decreased in length by thecontraction ot the springs to an extent corresponding to the totalamount of shrinkage, thereby drawing the slats together.

Then the structure is rolled or coiled up, as in the case of rollingpartitions, shutters, orblinds, t-he alteration of length caused by theturning of the slats about their edges of contact, Fig. 5, is allowedfor by the drawing apart of the springs, which increases the virtuallength of the cables.

It is obvious that the cables maybe held under tension by compressingthe springs B B for instance, by attaching the lower extremities of thecables to the lower end of the springs and attaching the latter to theupper parts of the recesses.

If desired, the springs B B can be placed in the upper end slat or slatsand the lower extremities of the cables be attached to the lower endslat, or springs can be placed in both end slats and the extremities ofthe cables attached to said springs.

In Fig. 6 I have shown short spiral springs E E placed between two ormore of the upper slats andV surrounding the cables. These springs beingunder compression tend to force these slats apart, thereby aiding thesprings B B in holding the remaining slats in close contact, edge toedge. These springs E E would be embodied only in rolling partitionsorblinds where the top slats are not exposed to view. The slats are bestprovided with suitable interlocking tongues and grooves to hold the sameparallel with each other and to give strength and stiffness to thestructure.

By the arrangement above described I procure a perfectly noiseless andsound-proof partition or shutter.

Vhat I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. A series of wooden slats threaded upon IOO cables,wires, or bands,combined with tensionproducing springs, substantially as described.

2. A rolling partition or shutter composed of wooden slats threaded uponcables, wires, or bands7 combined with tension-producing springs, andmeans for adjusting the tension of said springs, substantially asdescribed.

3. The combination, with a series of wooden slats, of springs located inone of the end slats and cables, wires, or bands extending through theslats, the opposite extremities of said cables, wires, or bands beingrespectively attached to the springs and to the opposite end slat,substantially as described.

JAS. G. WILSON.

Witnesses:

A. FABER DU FAUR, J r., H. M. HowE.

